Dark City
by Johnny Nguyen
Summary: A city in ruins and Shadow on the verge of self destruction. COMPLETE.
1. Welcome To Hell

**Dark City**

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Hell **

**(Shadow Narrating)**

I woke up in a sleazy hotel room in the worst part of Night Babylon. The walls were stained with various fluids; beer, food, and god knows what else. Water didn't drip from the rusted sink faucets, instead it was a muck-like sludge or sewage. I had saved this world plenty of times and this is the thanks I get? Figures. Should've known better than to trust G.U.N. and their empty promises. Should've killed them when I had the chance. Should've…

My throat was parched and all I had to satisfy my thirst was a half empty bottle of whiskey. Not exactly my favorite, but in these parts you could get a crate of bootleg alcohol for 10 dollars. Who could pass that up?

It was only a few minutes ago when my eyes shot open. Three in the morning, I never usually woke up at this hour but something made me wake up. A feeling. Something telling me I shouldn't be asleep. And then it happened, an explosion on the south side of Metropolis. You could feel the vibration throughout the entire city. The flames were pretty hard to miss, considering the monstrosity of a machine that was producing them. Another invention of the doctor, I assume. After that, all you could here were the screams of the feeble minded fools running with no heads on their shoulders, metaphorically of course.

I stood at the window watching as havoc ensued the once peaceful city. Harmony never settled for long here, not with the doctor and all his failing attempts at taking over this place. What was so special about this one city? Why build the Eggman Empire here? It doesn't matter really, that blue hedgehog will come and do the Governments dirty work for them. And sure enough, there he was on T.V. being followed by dozens of news reporters trying their best to stay at his heels.

Then something unexpected and unwanted happened…I got a knock at my door. This could be anyone; GUN soldiers trying to pin this on me, Sonics little friends asking for my help, or even the good doctor himself via, floating video screen. I yelled across the room to whomever was at the door, "Who is it?" No answer, that's never a good sign. I didn't feel like waiting all night to find out who was on the other side of that door so without hesitation I unlocked the old, beat up plank of wood to see a bat, a white bat in a purple, leather trench coat and large hat that matched it. She seemed familiar but she had her head at an angle that I couldn't see her features. Then she looked at me, it was Rouge. She has inviting eyes and a seductive smile but I could see right through her, through her disguise. She wanted something, and somehow I knew nothing good would come of this.

Without even waiting for me to say something she walked right in as if it were her room and not mine. She walked around examining the small, dirty room. "Nice place." she said with an obvious, sarcastic tone. I didn't know what she wanted and I didn't want her to be here. She took off her coat and hat, rested them on the chair at the table, and sat on the bed.

"So how have you been?" She asked, trying not to sound too suspicious. I look at her with resent, but then I found I couldn't look away. She was the first friendly face I'd seen in a while, the first smile I'd seen in a while. "What do you want Rouge?" I tried my best not to sound too callous towards her. "Just droppin' in to see how things are going." Rouge got up and stood parallel to me, far too close for my own comfort. I tried to step back a few feet but I reached nothing but wall. She leans in closer, cutting me off from any escape. Smiling seductively she says, "I need you to help me with something."

**-Hours Later-**

I wasn't sure what had exactly happened. I re-awoke in a daze. I couldn't find my head to save my life. Everything became confusing all at once. Then I remembered she was here. But what had happened after that? I found a note she left on my pillow. It read, "Shadow, I had to go. Sorry I couldn't stay for a second round, I got a call on a lead for some more treasure. Oh, by the way, thanks for agreeing to that thing we talked about. See ya!"

"Just what the hell did we talk about and why can't I remember?" Something wasn't right about all this. Then the phone rang, it was Vector. He told me he needed to talk to me right away. He sounded strange. Something was bothering him. He said to meet him down at the Black Den, so I grabbed my coat and gun and headed out the door to meet him. I jumped on my bike and sped through the streets of Night Babylon.

It was a bad day and it was about to get a whole lot worse. The Black Den was a bar, a bar for the worst of the worse and the lowest of the low. The kind of place you'd see Hitler and Satan playing poker. It had gotten its bad reputation from the series of deaths that occur nightly. But it was my kind of place.

I got to the door when some steroid fiend stepped in front of me and told me to turn around, after laying him out I met Vector at the bar. Welcomed with four bottles and a pitcher, I sat down and asked him to explain himself.

"So what's this all about?"

He handed me a classified envelope with some pictures inside.

"I found these in Rouge's house." He sat flatly. They were pictures of me. Places I've been going, people I've been talking to. Even a few of Vector and I here at the Black Den.

"What the hell? Rouge? You say she's the one who took these?

"Yeah and I'm not sure why. All I can say is that she's after something." Vector down a beer and ordered another. "Just make sure to avoid her. Has she tried to contact you or anything?"

"No." I lied. Whatever she's up to, it's already started. I assumed we had sex and I was just too drunk to remember but it would seem that she's planning something. "I've got to go." I took the pictures and left the bar. "Don't do anything stupid!" Vector shouted as I got back on my bike.

So I drove. I didn't know where I was going or what I was doing. All I knew was that I couldn't go back to my shit-hole of an apartment. "Don't do anything stupid." I thought to myself. It was too late for that. I had to find Rouge.


	2. Dirty World

**Dark City**

**Chapter 2: Dirty World**

**(Shadow Narrating)**

I get to Club Rouge, looking for that double crossing spy but she wasn't there, she wasn't anywhere. All of the sudden she had disappeared off the face of the earth. I wondered if someone had warned her. Maybe Vector? No, it couldn't be. Why would he tip me off if he's on her side? Unless...he wanted me to come look for her. No, impossble. It's just the paranoia setting in again...

I break a window in the back and sneak in. The silent alarm activates which should give me about an hour before the slime show up. I rip apart every drawer and desk but came up with nothing. Then I turn my attention to Rouge's computer. She's a smart girl so she wouldn't leave any evidence that would give her away, or would she? I scanned the computer until I found a file, a file I wished wasn't there.

**-Vector's Office-**

I kicked in the door to Vector's office threw the printed files onto his desk.

"What the hell is going on here, Vector?!"

"Shadow! What are yo-" He looked down at his desk. His voice changed; he spoke grimly and deep. "Where did you get these?"

"Why don't you tell me?"

Then I felt someone standing in the doorway behind me. The smell of perfume filled the room.

"Rouge." I turned around and there she was. Vector stood up at his desk. He looked concerned, or possibly scared.

"So Shadow, finally decided to get smart, eh?" She had an evil smirk on her face as she spoke. I wanted to light the room on fire and watch these two burn to the ground but I had questions that needed answers.

"Rouge, I'll ask you once. Why do you have these files?"

"What files, Shadow?" She smiled and acted as though she had no idea what I was talking about.

"The damn files from the murders!"

Things went quiet. Rouge wasn't smiling anymore and Vector had sat back down. The files had made their way into my hands although I don't even remember picking them up. I was studying them, the crime scene photos, the reports, and the mug shots. They'd gotten their greedy hands on something that was sealed away, far away.

I broke out of my trance and turned my attention back to Rouge.

"Tell me, Rouge…why are my mugshots in here?" I moved in closer to her, she seemed catatonic and she had fear in her eyes. "It looks to me like you and the crocodile have tampered with evidence. Seemed to make it look as though I committed these crimes. Isn't that strange…"

Vector gets up again but this time he's holding a gun.

"Give me the files, Shadow. I promise I'll let you go." He laughs arrogantly so I shoot him in the chest twice with my own pistol I had hidden in my coat.

"Sorry, Vector. Should've stayed on the right side."

I could already hear sirens closing in. That was way too quick to be from the gunshots. Then I realized Rouge was gone. She had done what she wanted. She fixed the evidence pinning me for the murders and now I was in Vector's office, with a gun in my hand, and a dead body in front of me.

It's a Dark City we live in, a dark city in a Dirty World.


	3. Just Like Old Times

**Dark City**

**Chapter 3: Just Like Old Times**

**(Shadow Narrating)**

I pulled a carton of cigarettes from my coat as I mulled things over in a dirty hotel room. It's been six damn months since that night back in Vector's office. Now I'm a wanted man. I was deceived, I was framed, and now I was on the run. Jumping from hotel to hotel in the middle of the night and killing anyone who got in my way. I was as low as I've ever been. And to make things even better, there was an enormous barricade surrounding the entire city. No one knew how high it really went and I'd never be able to climb it unless I wanted G.U.N. to shoot me out of the sky. They knew I was still here but they didn't know where. I guess that's the good news.

After a few days on the road I found that I had made a full circle, I was right back where I started, back in Night Babylon. Everything down to my very soul told me not to be here, but my instincts told me that this was the exact place I needed to be, and I'd rather follow my instincts than to follow my soul.

I hid my bike under an old sheet next to a dumpster a few streets from the Black Den. I made my way carefully and cautiously through the back alleys of Night Babylon. I didn't want to attract any unwanted attention that might set off my location. I came to find that every alley had become a dead end; they wanted to trick me, push me to use chaos control so they could track my energy. I don't think so pigs. As tattered as I am I still know that there's no way to get the Black Den without at least one open alleyway.

I creep along the rooftops, dodging every G.U.N. Beetle that comes my way. Then I find it, the alley I've been looking for, a straight shot right to the Black Den. But it's too easy. There was no sign of soldiers or cameras but I knew it was a setup. I stake it out for an hour before I see something; a G.U.N. Beetle materializes at the far corner in the alley. They were using a damn cloaking device. There could be dozens of beetles down there and I wouldn't even know it. I needed a distraction. Then it hit me; these machines were designed to stop fights, I just needed to do a little vicarious meddling.

I spotted two thugs walking in from opposite directions; once they got close enough I threw a brick in each of their directions, and just as I planned they started throwing each other around as if it were a life/death situation. Every G.U.N. Beetle lit up at once and zeroed in on the fight, hitting the two with tasers that failed to yield anything. I slipped by unnoticed and made my way to the entrance where I laid out the two bouncers standing in front of the door.

"Just like old times."


	4. The Unknown

**Dark City**

**Chapter 4: The Unknown**

**(Shadow Narrating)**

I took a seat on a stool at the far end of the bar and ordered a few shots. I looked around and noticed that the place had gotten considerably darker. There was a small fog that crept along the floor. For the most part it was still the same, except now some creep new owns it had turned it into a strip club. The bartender brought over two glasses and a large bottle of Vodka. I could feel her eyes fixed on me. "Rough night?" she asked. I kept my head down trying to avoid any eye contact but she and I both knew it was inevitable. I stared at the purple bird square as I threw back the first shot and slammed the glass onto the table. "Yeah…" I finally said with a grim look across my face. She smiles and pours me another shot, then pours one for herself as well.

As the night lead on, I became more paranoid and suspicious of the people around me, so I drank more and more in hopes that paranoia would fade away…but it never did. This bartender's getting increasingly flirty with me and I can already tell where this night's headed. With the amount of alcohol I've consumed I'd have no common sense to object towards anything. So why fight at this point? What's left to lose? There's nothing holding me back now.

**-Later-**

It was three in the morning and the bartender and I were both too drunk to walk straight. She invites me into her apartment above the bar for the night and I accept. As soon as we walked in, she started getting undressed. It must have been only hours before that I had first met this girl and now I was in her apartment about to do something I would regret in the morning. Escaping my train of thought, I take off my coat as she leads me to her room.

Her bedroom was decorated in EX Gear posters and equipment. It looks as though she might be a mechanic or a racer. My train of thought was broken once again as she pulled me into her and onto her bed. Part of me wants to get up and leave without looking back but the other part wants to stay and let everything in my conscience slip away.

She forced her lips to mine with such power that I thought I could taste my own blood. But the pain soon became pleasure and I had adapted to the feeling. Catching me off-guard, she quickly sat on top of me and handcuffed my hands above me to the head post. I had no idea what I was in for and found that I'd no longer cared. Whatever happens from this point on will happen without a second-guessing. I'm tired of trying to keep my head above the water. It was time to let go of the raft and sink to the bottom of the trench. Let it fill your lungs…

I woke up the next morning with my head feeling like it would roll off my shoulders. I look to the girl lying next to me and sifted through my memory of the night before. To my surprise, I could actually remember what had happened. No amnesia, no elapsed time, nothing. It was strange to feel like this, to not analyze every aspect of my life and existence. Now the only problem was to clear my name. I needed to find that double-crossing white bat and set this whole thing straight at any means necessary. I'm a criminal so I'd better start acting like one. I'd find that traitor and do what she did to me.

I got up, put my coat back on, and headed for the door but accidentally woke up the girl I had somewhat forgotten about in the process.

"Hey…" she said confused and half asleep. "Are you leaving?"

"Yes."

"Well, when will you be back?"

"That all depends on how things unfold. By the way, if anyone asks, you never saw me."

"Hey, wait!" She sat up covering herself with the blanket. "I didn't even get your name."

"I didn't get yours either."


	5. Beside You In Time

**Dark City**

**Chapter 5: Beside You In Time**

**(Shadow POV)**

The Doctor's Base shouldn't be much further away. I'd been driving for three days in the burning desert sun and I've seen nothing but sand and dead animals. It's got to be around here somewhere. Looking back, I guess I shouldn't have blown up that damn city barricade. But I had to get out of Metropolis. Now my face is plastered in every gas station, every run down inn, and even in nursing homes; catering to the half-dead. G.U.N.'s hot on my trail and there's no where left to hide. I'm Public Enemy Number One and I didn't do a goddamn thing. I keep thinking about what I'm going to do to the people that set me up. I keep dreaming about wrapping my hands around that bat's neck and draining every ounce of life from her body.

I've gotta get my head straight. I'm getting closer. Every so often I get some decent information from some prick who heard someone talking about a jewel thief on the run. That's right. Keep running, Rouge. It doesn't matter how far you get. I can smell your stench a mile away. I finally pull up to a massive metallic tower sticking straight out of the sand. Complete with the mustache and grin painted on the front. For the first time in a while I feel like I can catch my breath. I make my way to the door but before I can open it the Doctor comes barreling out like Santa on speed, grinning ear to ear.

"Shadow! So good to see you, my boy! It seems you've become quite the celebrity."

I can always count on the good doctor to get a kick out of chaos and corruption. Maybe that's how he's survived so long.

-minutes later-

It doesn't take long for me to brief him on the situation.

"Do you think you can help me?" I asked him.

"But of course! Why, look around you. I'm the world's most brilliant scientist alive! That bat girl can't hide from MY armada!" he boasts.

I can't help but grin at the thought of using the entire Eggman Armada just to hunt down this little pest. But at this point I'd do anything just see the look on her face.

"That's good to hear, Doctor. Let's see if we can't shine a light in this bat's eye."

We start laughing and it feels good for a while. I feel strong again. I've got an army of robots and an arsenal of endless weapons at my disposal. If G.U.N. wants my head on their platter then let them come. We'll see how far they're willing to go. How much blood they're willing to spill just to get me behind bars. Nothing can stop me now. Nothing.

A few hours later and I'm feeling like a god. I've got a laundry list of places Rouge has been spotted at, and the trail's still fresh. After a few sessions of some standard interrogation and torture at the local bars and night clubs everyone started talking. People I didn't even ask gave me a wealth of information just so they wouldn't have to see any more fingers flying off of their friend's hands. It's almost too easy.

The Doctor's running a DNA scanner around some nearby cities. Good thing Rouge had the tendency to leave her belongings at his base during our old escapades. She's buried herself and I'm getting closer to the prize. But something still doesn't feel right. There's still questions that have been left unanswered for far to long. Why set _me_ up? Her partner. Her teammate. And now that Vector was out of the picture I'm left putting my last ounce of trust into a mad scientist who frequently tries to take over the world. I can't afford any mistakes at this point. I'm too close.

**-BEEP BEEP BEEP-**

"Shadow, I've got a lock on her! She's by the Dry Lagoon, just North of here. It seems she's been hiding out there for some time now!" the Doctor blurted out excitedly.

"Good work, Doctor. What's the plan?"

"We'll wait until dark, then move in and surround her. She won't know what's coming! MUHAHAHA!!"

-CLICK-

Finally. I can end this and clear my name. Rouge you're going to pay for what you've done. Piece by piece. Bit by bit. I'll show you what true pain is.

I rendezvous with the doctor back at the base and we hatch out a plan. It's not going to be as easy as we may have thought. Surveillance camera's caught multiple suspects entering and leaving the Dry Lagoon. "It's seems she's not alone." I tell him. She's up to something. What it is, I still don't know. But I intend to find out. They seem to be hauling some heavy machinery into the lagoon. "It could be a trap, Shadow." he says. "Rouge is usually more cautious than this. What is she planning?"

"Well now, there's only one way to find out." I pop a fresh clip into my gun as Eggman prepares the air fleet for departure. This is it. No turning back now.

We arrive at the lagoon in a matter of seconds under a cloaking device. The Doctor's wised up. And then I see it. A monstrosity of an experiment standing at least 100 feet tall. Half machine and half… something else. Pulsating wires and steam spurt out of the abomination all over. "My word.." the doc says. "it's magnificent! A true work of genetic engineering!"

"If you say so." I retort.

The Doctor disengages the cloaking device. "Ahem! This is the Eggman Armada! Prepare to be destroyed by the best of the best! Muhahahaha!!" he announces on his loudspeaker. GUN Beetles disperse all around the fleet from every angle. "Shadow, take care of those little pests!"

"Right."

I jump from the deck and begin my assault. Blasting through each and every GUN unit I can find. Bullets and metal debris fall all around me in a glorious blaze of fire. I'm more than halfway through the hoard and I'm not even breaking a sweat. It's almost TOO MUCH fun. I finish off the rest of the drones and finally reach the bottom of the lagoon. GUN soldier's come at me from every angle and I rip them limb from limb. Blood everywhere and broken robots. But where's Rouge? And then I see her. Standing on top of that genetic abomination with a disgusting smirk on her face she says, "Well, well. Look who it is. Not to be rude but I don't think I invited you to this party, Shadow."

"My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail." I remark.

"You just don't give up do you?"

"That's not my style. Why don't you come down here and I'll show you my gratitude for throwing this little get-together?"

"Sounds good but I've got a better idea." she pushes a large button on the side of the monsters head and all the ground around me starts trembling. This isn't good. I don't what the hell that thing is but I can damn well assume it's not going to be happy to see me.

"You should've just given up, Shadow. You could have made all this a lot easier on yourself."

The monstrosity bursts into life and starts its rampage towards me. The damn thing's destroying everything in it's path. Not too bright. Shouldn't be too hard to take down. The Doctor fires a large beam from his ship but it barely leaves a mark. "Damn." I got caught off guard and felt the sting of it's massive fist to my side. I jump back and forth from the pillars surrounding this beast. Finally I reach a small cliff on the edge of the lagoon and to my surprise there's a rocket launcher practically begging me to pick it up. "This, I could use." I target the monster's head and send a flurry of heat-seeking missiles crashing into it's skull. "Gotcha!" The beast stumbles around trying to catch it's balance. This is my

chance. I leap into the air deliver the final blow with a Chaos Spear straight between it's eyes. It comes crashing down fiery blaze and Rouge falls beside it.

"There's no where left to go, Rouge."

*cough cough* "Figures. I should've known not to bet against you. I guess you're here to finish me off…"

"Why'd you do it? Why set me up, knowing damn well what I'm capable of?"

"Orders are orders, Shadow." she says quietly.

"Who's orders?"

"The President's. He told me if I did this one last mission I would be free to take all the jewels in the world! But I didn't know they would hunt you down like this. I had nothing to do with that!"

"So that's it, huh? Greed and your job sent me down to hell and back. All for some goddamn jewelry?! I SHOULD KILL WHERE YOU STAND, ROUGE!"

I fixate the barrel of my gun directly on her. I can taste her fear. I can almost see her drowning in remorse. This is what the past year of my life has lead up to. This is how it will end. I can feel my finger aching to pull the trigger and wipe this backstabbing traitor out of existence.

"This will all be over in a second." I tell her. Tears rain from her eyes like pools of sorrow. Those eyes…

And then a feeling I can't describe washes over me. I can't kill her. Maybe that's why she's been able to evade me for so long. Maybe I always knew this. And as much pain and trouble she's caused me I can't bring myself to pull the damn trigger. Unable to do what I was created to do. I lower my gun to my side.

"What?" she says, baffled.

"I'm not going to kill you, Rouge." I drop my gun in the hot oasis grass and turn away. "I can't forgive you for your sins. That's something you'll have to live with forever."

As I walk away the last thing I hear are the sounds G.U.N. soldiers shrouding all the ground around me. "Shadow…" Rouge says.

-BANG-

Now, all that's left is the cold smell of blood in the air. Rouge is dead. And I am here. Right beside her.


End file.
